The Babylonians however, in order to adapt the writing to their language, did not content themselves with the 'picture' method, but using the non-Semitic equivalent for their own words, employed the former as syllables, while retaining, at the same time, the sign as an ideograph.

To make this clearer by an example, the numeral '1' would represent the word 'one' in their own language, while the non-Semitic word for 'one,' which let us suppose was "_ash_," they used as the phonetic value of the sign, in writing a word in which this sound occurred, as _e.g._, _ash-es_.

Since each sign, in Sumero-Akkadian as well as in Babylonian, represented some general idea, it could stand for an entire series of words, grouped about this idea and associated with it, 'day,' for example, being used for 'light,' 'brilliancy,' 'pure,' and so forth.

The variety of syllabic and ideographic values which the cuneiform characters show could thus be accounted for.
This theory, however, tempting as it is by its simplicity, cannot be accepted in this unqualified form.

Advancing knowledge has made it certain that the ancient civilization, including the religion, is Semitic in character.